Fletcher hopes to turn the page on new library branch

Published: Tuesday, February 18, 2014 at 4:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Monday, February 17, 2014 at 6:48 p.m.

With its new town hall nearly complete, Fletcher's town council is hoping to move forward with another project on its wish list for the “Heart of Fletcher" — a new library branch to replace the maxed-out facility on Library Road.

On Feb. 10, council unanimously approved a motion to request assistance from Henderson County commissioners in moving forward with a new library and offering up land north of the $1.7 million town hall to help make it happen.

On Wednesday, Town Manager Mark Biberdorf and Councilman Bob Davy will go before commissioners to update them on progress within the 50-acre “Heart of Fletcher” site and proffer up to 5 acres there for a future library and parking.

“We're just trying to bridge some of the costs we know are associated with this project,” said Biberdorf.

With completion of the new town hall scheduled for April or May, Mayor Pro-Tem Eddie Henderson said councilmembers hope their offer of land helps facilitate movement on the Fletcher library after years of discussion by both town and county officials.

“We'd like to drive a stake in the ground, so we're all on the same page and not let it linger on another three or four years,” Henderson said. “The people who run the library, they've done a tremendous job with what they have. But when you look at the number of books, we just don't have the room to add any. It's so well-used, it's amazing.”

Built in 1989 using citizen-raised funds, the existing 5,000-square-foot Fletcher branch circulated about 30,000 items in its first full year of operation, said Henderson County Library Director Bill Snyder. Twenty years later, he said, the branch was circulating about 130,000 items annually, a four-fold increase.

“Fletcher is the fastest growing area of the county and they're by far the busiest branch,” Snyder said.

He said the Library Board of Trustees has “been interested in replacing it for 10 years, but we all know the economy tanked on us and commissioners had to get creative to keep us from facing the same deficits the state is facing.”

That creativity included a 7.5 percent across-the-board budget cut in 2011 that forced the libraries to reduce hours and material purchases at every branch. But now the county is sitting on $12.2 million in available reserves and is retiring roughly $1.4 million in old debt over the next two years.

Snyder said it's estimated Fletcher needs 15,000 square feet of library to accommodate future growth, which will cost roughly $2 million “if there's no land involved.” That's about what it cost to build a new 8,100-square-foot branch in Etowah in 2008, Snyder said, but that included almost $400,000 in land acquisition costs.

Books in, books out

Cindy Fisher, Fletcher Library branch manager, said space there is at such a premium that older titles must be discarded — usually sold at the library's book sale — to make room for new ones coming in. She started by culling titles that weren't checked out within two years, “but now it's getting to where everything here is getting checked out.”

Things are so cramped, Fisher said, the branch's popular Young Adult section has to share space on the library's magazine rack.

Meanwhile, the library's four public computers aren't enough to meet demand from growing numbers of patrons, she said, especially “people looking for jobs who use them for resumes, job searches and submitting applications. We can get 4,000 people coming in here in one month, with 500 computer sessions per month.”

Commissioners Chairman Charlie Messer said he's discussed the library's space constraints recently with Fletcher council members and Mayor Bill Moore. He invited Biberdorf and Davy to Wednesday's board meeting to give other commissioners an opportunity to weigh in on the issue.

“We're eventually going to build what we need to build as far as the best bang for our buck, without anything being elaborate,” Messer said. “I just wish this conversation had happened a month and a half ago,” when commissioners began discussing capital improvements as part of their 2014-15 budget planning.

Commissioner Larry Young, who sits on the Library Board of Trustees, agreed that “we know we've got to build a new library. That one over there we've got, it's going to take a whole lot of work and probably we would be better off to spend the money elsewhere.”

County Manager Steve Wyatt told commissioners last month they have the capacity to finance at least $42 million in capital projects over the next five years because of retiring debt service.

Young said “what we're banking on is we can put that debt service back on to do Hendersonville High and these other projects,” including perhaps Fletcher's new branch.

<p>With its new town hall nearly complete, Fletcher's town council is hoping to move forward with another project on its wish list for the “Heart of Fletcher" — a new library branch to replace the maxed-out facility on Library Road.</p><p>On Feb. 10, council unanimously approved a motion to request assistance from Henderson County commissioners in moving forward with a new library and offering up land north of the $1.7 million town hall to help make it happen.</p><p>On Wednesday, Town Manager Mark Biberdorf and Councilman Bob Davy will go before commissioners to update them on progress within the 50-acre “Heart of Fletcher” site and proffer up to 5 acres there for a future library and parking.</p><p>“We're just trying to bridge some of the costs we know are associated with this project,” said Biberdorf.</p><p>With completion of the new town hall scheduled for April or May, Mayor Pro-Tem Eddie Henderson said councilmembers hope their offer of land helps facilitate movement on the Fletcher library after years of discussion by both town and county officials.</p><p>“We'd like to drive a stake in the ground, so we're all on the same page and not let it linger on another three or four years,” Henderson said. “The people who run the library, they've done a tremendous job with what they have. But when you look at the number of books, we just don't have the room to add any. It's so well-used, it's amazing.”</p><p>Built in 1989 using citizen-raised funds, the existing 5,000-square-foot Fletcher branch circulated about 30,000 items in its first full year of operation, said Henderson County Library Director Bill Snyder. Twenty years later, he said, the branch was circulating about 130,000 items annually, a four-fold increase.</p><p>“Fletcher is the fastest growing area of the county and they're by far the busiest branch,” Snyder said. </p><p>He said the Library Board of Trustees has “been interested in replacing it for 10 years, but we all know the economy tanked on us and commissioners had to get creative to keep us from facing the same deficits the state is facing.”</p><p>That creativity included a 7.5 percent across-the-board budget cut in 2011 that forced the libraries to reduce hours and material purchases at every branch. But now the county is sitting on $12.2 million in available reserves and is retiring roughly $1.4 million in old debt over the next two years.</p><p>Snyder said it's estimated Fletcher needs 15,000 square feet of library to accommodate future growth, which will cost roughly $2 million “if there's no land involved.” That's about what it cost to build a new 8,100-square-foot branch in Etowah in 2008, Snyder said, but that included almost $400,000 in land acquisition costs.</p><p><b>Books in, books out</b></p><p>Cindy Fisher, Fletcher Library branch manager, said space there is at such a premium that older titles must be discarded — usually sold at the library's book sale — to make room for new ones coming in. She started by culling titles that weren't checked out within two years, “but now it's getting to where everything here is getting checked out.”</p><p>Things are so cramped, Fisher said, the branch's popular Young Adult section has to share space on the library's magazine rack.</p><p>Meanwhile, the library's four public computers aren't enough to meet demand from growing numbers of patrons, she said, especially “people looking for jobs who use them for resumes, job searches and submitting applications. We can get 4,000 people coming in here in one month, with 500 computer sessions per month.”</p><p>Commissioners Chairman Charlie Messer said he's discussed the library's space constraints recently with Fletcher council members and Mayor Bill Moore. He invited Biberdorf and Davy to Wednesday's board meeting to give other commissioners an opportunity to weigh in on the issue.</p><p>“We're eventually going to build what we need to build as far as the best bang for our buck, without anything being elaborate,” Messer said. “I just wish this conversation had happened a month and a half ago,” when commissioners began discussing capital improvements as part of their 2014-15 budget planning.</p><p>Commissioner Larry Young, who sits on the Library Board of Trustees, agreed that “we know we've got to build a new library. That one over there we've got, it's going to take a whole lot of work and probably we would be better off to spend the money elsewhere.”</p><p>County Manager Steve Wyatt told commissioners last month they have the capacity to finance at least $42 million in capital projects over the next five years because of retiring debt service. </p><p>Young said “what we're banking on is we can put that debt service back on to do Hendersonville High and these other projects,” including perhaps Fletcher's new branch.</p><p>___</p><p>Reach Axtell at 828-694-7860 or than.axtell@blueridgenow.com.</p>